No preferential snow removal treatment for Lower Macungie officials

A resident has told township officials he is concerned about plowed snow piling up, especially on corners, and burying handicap ramps, school bus stops and access to crosswalks.

Fosselman said next year the township will find out from East Penn School District where the designated school bus stops are, then put blue or red tags on top of street signs so plow drivers know the location of those bus stops and won't push snow up to the sidewalks there.. The township manager said those bus stops change every year.

Beitler asked if residents who have corner lots with crosswalks for Willow Lane Elementary School are required to clear those crosswalks.

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Lancsek said technically they are, "but sometimes it's physically impossible, especially with this ice. There no way even a snowblower can get through that stuff."

Barometer of good plowing

Commissioner Douglas Brown said the barometer he uses to gauge how good a job the snowplows are doing "is how many times my mailbox get smashed. I purposely built it on a weak stand so, when it does get hit, it breaks at a point that is easy to fix."

Brown said the plows are doing a good job this winter because his mailbox has not been knocked down once.

'There have been times, seven years ago, when they would go up our street and take out 10 mailboxes right in a row," said Brown. "That's primarily why I ran for commissioner, to put a stop to that."

Township officials know of only one mailbox that has been knocked over this winter, Said Fosselman: "A lot of time it's not the plow, but the snow that pushes it, especially with these boulders we've had."

Snow emergency routes

Brown chairs the commissioners' public works committee, which plans to begin reviewing the township's snow emergency routes, ordinances and procedures in April.

"We'll see what needs to be fixed," said Brown. He wants to have recommendations for all the commissioners to consider before the next snow season.

The township sparked some public wrath in early January, when it had26 vehicles towed because they were parked on snow emergency routes and their owners didn't move them when a storm was coming. Those owners had to pay up to $400 in towing fees to get their cars back, although the tow truck company later agreed to give them $65 refunds.

Fosselman said not a single car had to be towed this week.

Brown indicated some people may have been unfamiliar with snow emergencies in the township because they are triggered by a snowfall of at least six inches, something that had not happened for several years.

One resident already has suggested that township fire police should drive along snow emergency routes with their emergency lights flashing and use their public address systems to warn people that they must move their cars.

As for the rest of this winter, Fosselman said the township still has enough road salt to handle seven or eight more storms. He said the township can store up to 3,000 tons of salt and uses about 100 tons per storm.

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